U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Federal Railroad 

Administration 

FEB 1 5 2013 

The Honorable Barbara Mikulski 

Chairwoman 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Madam Chairwoman: 

Administrator 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

I am pleased to submit this quarterly report on Amtrak's On-time performance. I hope 

that the information contained in the enclosed report will assist the Committee in its 

work. 

Identical letters have been sent to the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on 

Appropriations, and to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee 

on Appropriations. 

Sincerely, 

ac~ Joseph C. Szabo 

Administrator 

Enclosure 
Amtrak On-Time Performance (OTP) Report 

(As Described in Section 154 of Pub. L. 111-117) 

This report includes (1) an update on recent Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and 

related efforts to improve Amtrak's on-time performance and (2) Amtrak's OTP results and 

performance against FRA-established goals (in Attachment A). 

OTP Highlights through the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 

Summary: During FY 2012, Host-Responsible delays improved slightly relative to FY 

2011, with all six major hosts showing at least some improvement. Delays were higher, 

however, than during FY 2010 and most ofFY 2009. BNSF had the lowest overall level 

of delay of any of the major hosts; Canadian National (CN) had the highest level of 

delay, driven primarily by its Freight Train Interference (FTI) delays, which exceeded 

those on other major host railroads. 

STB Investigation Under PRIIA Section 213: On January 19, 2012, Amtrak filed a 

petition with the Surface Transportation Board (STB), asking it to investigate the causes 

of the high level of delays to Amtrak trains running on the tracks of CN, and make 

recommendations as to how delays can be reduced. The Passenger Rail Investment and 

Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) included a new provision giving the STB the ability to 

investigate the causes of poor Amtrak train performance; this is the first petition Amtrak 

has filed under this provision. The STB's proceeding ongoing. The Department remains 

cognizant of these developments and looks forward to appropriate resolution ofthis 

matter. 

Ethan Allen and Adirondack Services- Need for Slow Order Improvement on 

Canadian Pacific Railway: Following the success of a joint Amtrak/Vermont Railway 

effort to reduce delays on the Vermont Railway portion of the Ethan Allen route, Amtrak 

is now turning to the Canadian Pacific (CP) owned portion of the Ethan Allen route, 

which also hosts the Adirondack. Slow orders have been a persistent issue on this 

segment; during the fourth quarter of FY 2012, slow order delays alone were 1 ,316 

minutes per 10,000 train-miles on the CP portion of the Adirondack service, and 2,23 8 

minutes per 10,000 train-miles on the CP portion of the Ethan Allen service. (These slow 

order delays alone far exceed the total delay allowance of 900 minutes per 10,000 trainmiles under the PRIIA Section 207 Metrics and Standards.) 

CP had initially scheduled rail replacements to eliminate some of these slow order delays 

during Summer 2012. The project was later pushed back to Fall2012, and now is 

expected to be only about two-thirds complete by the end of the year. CP now indicates 

that the rest of the project will be done during the 2013 construction season. Following 

the current work, Amtrak will look to CP to continue reducing slow orders, and to 

conduct preventive maintenance to prevent slow orders from recurring. 

Texas Eagle: Amtrak and Union Pacific have been working since July 2011 on an effort 

to reduce delays on the Texas Eagle service. The joint team's efforts thus far have 

included operational improvements such as new departure protocols at the San Antonio 
and Ft. Worth stations, and slow order improvements. During September and October 

2012, the team made significant progress in reducing Freight Train Interference delays. 

Nonetheless, there remains room for improvement, as total delays continue to exceed the 

PRIIA standard. 

1-95 Corridor: Following several years of improvement, CSX Freight Train Interference 

(FTI) delays have begun to increase significantly on the I-95 corridor. In FY 2012, CSX 

FTI delays on the Auto Train, Silver Service, Palmetto, and Carolinian increased 

collectively by 35%, with the largest increase being on the Carolinian (55% increase in 

FTI delays). Amtrak's Host Railroads group has conducted a special analysis of this 

corridor's recent performance trends and is seeking assistance from CSX management. 

The next quarterly OTP report will contain an update on this developing situation. 

Over the segment between Richmond and Newport News, Virginia, CSX has experienced 

slow order delays that have varied significantly from month to month; most recently, 

slow orders declined following a major track work project in August 2012. 

Cardinal: Following several months of joint efforts, Amtrak and CSX have reduced 

CSX-responsible delays to within the PRIIA standard on the Cardinal. Amtrak and the 

Buckingham Branch Railroad (BBRR) are now working together on a plan to reduce 

delays on the BBRR portion of the route. The largest categories of delay on BBRR are 

slow orders and signal failures. 

Intensified FRA Oversight of Long-Distance Train Service Quality: The FRA has 

enhanced its oversight of the service quality of long-distance trains-including but not 

limited to OTP-by adding a staff member, specifically dedicated to that purpose, to the 

Office of Railroad Policy and Development. Intensified monitoring of long-distance train 

performance will keep the Federal Railroad Administrator more immediately informed of 

OTP and other service conditions in Amtrak's long-distance network, which consists of 

15 routes. This is particularly important in view ofFRA's responsibilities, under Section 

210 ofPRIIA, to monitor Amtrak's progress in implementing its Performance 

Improvement Plans for these routes. 

FRA Investments with Long-Term OTP Impacts: Investments sponsored by FRAin 

passenger-rail-related infrastructure can have lasting impacts on OTP. A recentlycompleted project highlights the types of corridor improvements that provide immediate 

and long-terrri OTP benefits. The State of Vermont received $52.7 million in American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds through the High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail 

program to improve 190 miles oftrack between St. Albans and Vernon. FRA funding 

leveraged nearly $20 million in non-Federal funds, including $5 million in private 

investment from New England Central Railroad, a class III railroad headquartered in St. 

Albans, as these improvements provide meaningful benefits for both passenger and 

freight rail services. The project will result in increased speeds and greater reliability, will 

allow for additional frequencies, and will result in approximately 30 minutes in travel 

time savings. Multi-party agreements will ensure on-time performance of at least 90% 

going forward. 
Attachment A: Amtrak On-Time Performance: Full Fiscal Year 2012 

[Data cover Oct 1, 

2011 to September 

30, 2012]

 

Test 1: 

On-Time Percentage 

Test 2: 

Constant or 

Better Effective 

Speed 



Indicates 

both tests 

were met 

for OTP 

Progress

FY 2012 

OTP 

Target 

Percentage 

Point 

Variance 

from OTP 

Target Amtrak OTP 

Percentage 

Point Variance 

from Prior 

Year 

Change in MPH 

from October 2008 

Baseline for Last 4 

Quarters 

Northeast Corridor Service (Goal for FY 2012: 95%) 

Acela 95.0% (5.3%) 89.7% 5.7% (0.1) 

Regional Service 95.0% (8.5%) 86.5% 7.4% 0.1 

Other Corridor Services (Goal for FY 2012: 90%) 

Adirondack 90.0% (14.2%) 75.8% 14.6% 1.2 

Blue Water 90.0% (15.9%) 74.1% 19.6% 3.6 

Capitols 90.0% 3.8% 93.8% (1.0%) 2.2 

Carolinian 90.0% (16.4%) 73.6% 10.3% 1.4 

Cascades 90.0% (15.9%) 74.1% 4.1% 0.5 

Downeaster 90.0% (3.7%) 86.3% 10.9% 0.9 

Empire Service 90.0% 0.4% 90.4% 5.9% 0.7 

Ethan Allen Express 90.0% (17.7%) 72.3% 11.6% 2.7 

Heartland Flyer 90.0% (30.8%) 59.2% (15.9%) 0.9 

Hiawatha 90.0% 0.1% 90.1% 1.8% 0.2 

Hoosier State 90.0% (20.9%) 69.1% 9.3% 2.4 

Illini 90.0% (18.7%) 71.3% 16.3% 2.4 

Illinois Zephyr 90.0% 0.3% 90.3% 1.7% 0.9 

Keystone 90.0% 2.4% 92.4% 3.9% 0.6 

Lincoln Service 90.0% (13.6%) 76.4% 12.0% 3.2 

Maple Leaf 90.0% (22.9%) 67.1% 9.5% 0.7 

Missouri Services 90.0% (1.6%) 88.4% 2.7% 8.0 

Pacific Surfliner 90.0% (14.4%) 75.6% (2.0%) 0.0 

Pennsylvanian 90.0% 3.3% 93.3% 8.1% 0.7 

Pere Marquette 90.0% (40.3%) 49.7% (1.9%) 2.4 

Piedmont 90.0% (17.5%) 72.5% (7.8%) 1.2 

San Joaquins 90.0% (1.9%) 88.1% (1.4%) 1.0 

Vermonter 90.0% (4.6%) 85.4% 7.0% 2.1 

Wolverines 90.0% (45.3%) 44.7% 25.0% 1.7 

Long Distance Routes (Goal for FY 2012: 85%) 

Auto Train 85.0% 1.5% 86.5% (3.4%) 0.5 

California Zephyr 85.0% (33.4%) 51.6% 10.2% 2.9 

Capitol Limited 85.0% (11.9%) 73.1% 23.8% 2.0 

Cardinal 85.0% (42.0%) 43.0% 4.2% 1.0 

City of New Orleans 85.0% 3.1% 88.1% 11.5% 1.5 

Coast Starlight 85.0% (6.0%) 79.0% 2.7% 1.1 

Crescent 85.0% (2.8%) 82.2% 10.2% 0.5 

Empire Builder 85.0% (24.3%) 60.7% 16.9% (0.6) 

Lake Shore Limited 85.0% (14.5%) 70.5% 15.1% 1.3 

Palmetto 85.0% (8.0%) 77.0% 2.2% 1.0 

Silver Meteor 85.0% (19.2%) 65.8% (10.9%) 0.1 

Silver Star 85.0% (18.2%) 66.8% (3.5%) 0.8 

Southwest Chief 85.0% (9.7%) 75.3% 2.0% (0.1) 

Sunset Limited 85.0% (17.8%) 67.2% (12.7%) 2.7 

Texas Eagle 85.0% (19.2%) 65.8% 10.1% 2.6 